\u201cConsistency is the hardest part for those young kids, it really is,\u201d said Sturm. \u201cYou need the experience and you need those games to go through it. And that\u2019s where we\u2019re at right now. Can they stay consistent? Yeah, there was a little drop [in their effectiveness in Game 3]. It\u2019s hard in the playoffs.\u201d <\/p>\n
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Any change likely starts with Hagens. The rookie has just five games under his belt and suffered a couple of tough breaks in Game 3<\/a>. He fanned on a one-timer from the slot, and he failed to fully block Bowen Byram\u2019s shot on the tying goal, the puck rolling up the left winger\u2019s blade and past Jeremy Swayman.<\/p>\n If either or both of those plays happened in a regular-season game, it wouldn\u2019t be such a big deal. Bad breaks happen. But in the postseason, things are magnified.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll see. We\u2019re just in the process of going through the game again from [Thursday] night we\u2019ll see [Saturday],\u201d said Sturm, referring to the team\u2019s scheduled practice. \u201cSo far, [Hagens] has been really good. He\u2019s given us everything he\u2019s had. And [yes], he had more mistakes probably last game than he\u2019d done in the past, so we\u2019ll see. We\u2019re going to analyze this and go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n Minten and Khusnutdinov, the other \u201ckids,\u201d are valuable penalty killers \u2014 Boston has yet to allow a power-play goal in the series \u2014 so they are safe.<\/p>\n Three of Boston\u2019s healthy scratches \u2014 Mikey Eyssimont, Alex Steeves, and Lukas Reichel \u2014 have played left wing on the third line this season. Sturm could slide any of those three in, because the familiarity is there.<\/p>\n Eyssimont would seem to be the most likely candidate. He played some of his best hockey down the stretch and he has some playoff experience \u2014 eight games with the Lightning. Steeves and Reichel have yet to play a postseason game.<\/p>\n Eyssimont plays a gritty, grinding style and enjoys getting under his opponents\u2019 skin. His style could help offset the liberties the Sabres have been taking in Swayman\u2019s crease.<\/p>\n On the back end, Henri Jokiharju could be in line for a twirl against his old team, particularly if Mason Lohrei isn\u2019t 100 percent after taking an Alex Tuch elbow to the face in the third period of Game 3. Jokiharju has responded well in the past after benching and had two goals and 6 points in his final six games.<\/p>\n Sturm expressed confidence that the players who have been healthy scratches at times throughout the season would respond well if called upon.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe the groundwork is already done during the season, especially the last two, three weeks in the season. They didn\u2019t play. We kind of try to keep them involved. They played a few games, try to do it that way,\u201d said the coach. \u201cAt this time right now, the only message is they\u2019ve just got to be ready. They\u2019ve got to go out and do the hard work, the extra skate. But I think they also know already, \u2018OK, if my name gets called up, I\u2019ve got to be ready.\u2019 And that\u2019s what it is. That\u2019s just on every team, not just on us. And then it could be next game, could be the following game, who knows, but when it\u2019s time to shine, they\u2019ve just got to make sure they\u2019re ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Charlie McAvoy said before Game 3 that officials had made it clear that postwhistle shenanigans would not be tolerated. Such chats are meant to set the tone for a game, but they can also have an adverse effect, causing some players to think too much rather than just playing freely.<\/p>\n \u201cFor sure,\u201d said Sturm. \u201cI mean, I address it too, because there\u2019s especially in scrums, you\u2019ve just got to be careful now. I know they have their standard, but also, I see a little bit a difference [depending on who] is refereeing. So yeah, you\u2019ve just got to be more careful, that\u2019s all. And overall, if you look at all the playoff games, it\u2019s been a lot of penalties actually, and it could have been way more, too. So … there\u2019s times these players are holding back because of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him @globejimmcbride<\/a>.<\/p>\n